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OBD Car Doctor

OBD Car Doctor PRO

OBD Car Doctor

Useful Information

OBD-II basic information

On-Board Diagnostic systems are in most cars and light commercial vehicles on the road today. During the '70s and early 1980's manufacturers started using electronic means to control engine functions and diagnose engine problems. Primary purpose was to meet EPA emission standards (USA). To meet these standards, manufacturers turned to electronically controlled fuel feed and ignition systems. Sensors measured engine performance and adjusted the systems to provide minimum pollution. These sensors were also accessed to provide early diagnostic assistance.

OBD-II, a new standard introduced in the mid-'90s, provides almost complete engine control and also monitors parts of the chassis, body and accessory devices, as well as the diagnostic control network of the car. OBD-II is an expanded set of standards and practices developed by SAE and adopted by the EPA and CARB (California Air Resources Board) for implementation by January 1, 1996.

Strangely and unusually Europe was slower on the implementation of OBD2. Europe OBD (also known as EOBD) became mandatory for all new European car designs in 2000, existing cars in 2001 and diesels 2004 (however most manufacturers implemented it significantly earlier – as many cars were also sold in the US).

Parameters

You may help us improve Application by sending OBD-II parameters of your car. Just leave your car data at the Setting page of the App and send them out to us at General information menu.

Your questions and feedback are also welcome, fill out form below.

Thank you!

OBD-II protocols

There are five basic OBD-II protocols in use - CAN, ISO 9141, ISO 14230 (also KWP2000), PWM è VPW, each with minor variations on the communication pattern between the on-board diagnostic computer and the scanner console or tool. You may also tell which protocol is used on a specific automobile by examining the connector socket carefully. If the dash connector has a pin in the #7 position and no pin at #2 or #10, then the car has the ISO 9141 protocol. If no pin is present in the #7 position, the car uses an SAE protocol. If there are pins in positions #7 and #2 and/or #10, the car may use the ISO protocol.

The differences between the protocols are pure details, for example, data rate. Online you can find so-called "table applicability" - lists of relevant brands and models of cars and OBD-II-protocols they support. But these lists do not give complete and accurate information - not always cars presented in the list will support OBD-II. It is especially difficult to judge the variety of functions to support specific protocols. The fact is that it all depends on the model, year and the market, which is the car focused on.

Features

Supported parameters

ODB Car Doctor Android

ODB Car Doctor Android PRO

ODB Car Doctor IPhone

Bluetooth (2.0) adapters support

Wi-Fi adapters support

Kiwi 3 (BLE) adapters support

Read and interpret trouble codes (DTC memory)

Clear error codes including Check Engine Light (MIL) and others

Read parameters in real-time (if supported by the car):

Engine RPM

Motor load

Coolant temperature

Fuel System Status

Speed of Vehicle

Absolute air pressure

Ignition timing

Inlet air temperature

Mass air flow

Throttle position

Lambda Sensor (correction of the motor)

Fuel pressure

And another parameters - depending on the car

Chart drawing for real-time data

Reading VIN chassis number

Real time parameters recording

Read, display, record multiple parameters simultaneously

Recording parameters in background mode

View and sending recorded parameters traces

GPS support

Fuel Economy parameters

Upload to obd-car-doctor.com server

Store and share DTC data and General info

Auto-start of last used command screen (use "Auto start of the last command" option in Configuration alone or in combination with "Connect BT at start")

Does my car support OBD-II standard?

Unfortunately, other cars are not complied with the OBD-II standard. But, you may see some hints that may help to identify your car.

2. DLC connector (Diagnostic Link Connector) - 16 pin-out DLC of a trapezoidal shape. ! Some cars have DLC connector, but they do not support OBD-II standard. DLC connector may be located in one of the 8 places and can be open or closed by some cover with a sign "OBD-II", "Diagnose" etc.

3. Technical documentation to your car. OBD-II compliance may be mentioned at the technical documentation of your vehicle (but not in the general direction to the car brand / model!).

4. You can also search all the identification plates on the car - there may be signs "OBD-II compliant" or "OBD-II certified".

5. Another way is to ask at the service center or at some online automobile community.

Diagnostic connector. What is this? How to find diagnostic connector in the car?

The main function of the diagnostic socket (in OBD-II it is called a - Diagnostic Link Connector, DLC) is to provide the connection of the diagnostic scanner with control units that are compatible with OBD-II. DLC connector must meet the SAE J1962 standards.

According to these standards, the DLC connector position is in the center of the car. It should be within 16 inches of the steering wheel. The manufacturer can locate the DTL in one of the eight locations defined by EPA. Each pin of the connector has a different purpose. See also the question Does my car support OBD-II standard?

These codes are used by some manufacturers to identify vehicle problems.

The codes are divided into two groups – generic and extended codes. Generic ones are strictly standardized and their decoding is always the same for all the OBD-II cars, but vehicle manufacturers also may use manufacturer specific DTC codes that are different from the Generic codes – extended codes. Foreign vehicles may also use DTC codes different from the generic DTC codes. It's important to remember that codes depend on the cars construction, model and manufacturer.

How do I connect my mobile device and Application to my car?

OBD Car Doctor Android

For Android app you need to buy OBD-II Bluetooth adapter based on the ELM 327 Comptroller or a compatible one. Please note that Android version of the OBD Car Doctor works with wireless adapters which supports Bluetooth only.

Plug ELM 327 Bluetooth adapter to the car's OBD-II port, go to the Bluetooth environment at you Android mobile and find the adapter.

Pair the two devices.

The secret code of pairing is 1234 or 0000.

Go to the OBD Car Doctor application > Settings, select name of the adapter from the devices list and you are ready to go!

change settings of "BT mode" (Menu-Configuration-Connection-BT mode) After you changed BT mode it is important to follow steps 2-4 again.

If these steps do not help, please enable Debug logging option (Menu-Configuration-Logging), try to connect to the adapter and send the Log-file from the Logging page with your comments about the error details.

Does OBD Car Doctor work with my phone or tablet?

OBD Car Doctor for Android is available for all Android devices with version of Android 2.2 or newer,

OBD Car Doctor PRO requires Android 2.2 or newer. You also need to have Bluetooth in your phone.

For the calculation of all types of fuel consumption MAF or MAP sensors should be available in the car (if only MAP sensor is available one should specify Engine Displacement in the Settings menu). The data indication may delay a little and start after car started moving (speed > 5 km/h, the distance > 50m). For mare details, please, visit obd-car-doctor.com

Why is the maximum value of RPM during OBD recording does not correspond to the maximum value at the chart? (Same issue with the RPM data logging)

At the moment the log information on a smartphone is displayed in form of "preview", and as the zooming is not available only average number of points are displayed, that’s why the "peaks" can be cut. For a detailed analysis of records the tracks upload to the server is expected. It will provide additional tool charts analyzing and processing. This functionality being tested at the moment.

What is the "Volumetric efficiency"? How to define Volumetric efficiency for my engine?

Volumetric efficiency is used in the program for calculation of the fuel economy based on manifold absolute pressure sensor (MAP) if the direct data of the mass air flow (MAF) is not available.

The default is value is 80. If the car supports both MAP and MAF, then the "Volumetric efficiency" can be viewed as a measurement parameter (will be displayed in the list of Dynamic Parameters).

Can’t clear errors (DTC) from the ECU?

Solution: You should clear errors at the full power supplied, but with the engine OFF.

Other PIDs such as PID 05, 06 etc. will be supported?

Currently OBD Car Doctor application supports PID 01, 02, 03, 04.07, 09 (partially). To support other PIDs we need more information, and if you own such information, we will be glad if you share it with us.

What is error XXXX?

The Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC) are collected at the Electronic control unit of the car (ECU) when any car system error appears, they serve to understand the reason of the errors and solve them.

For parameters reading and recording, as well as mapping and logging, we need access to the one folder - Files, the application does not use your Media / Photo (this information Google Play brings together under one section).

Access to Localization is needed to determine the speed by GPS.

The access to the Device & App History (OBD Car Doctor PRO version) is required to display application data above the other screens when the application runs in the background.

Is it possible to read errors from other systems, ABS, automatic transmission, etc.?

In accordance with the OBD-II only Check Engine errors are displayed and reset, i.e. engine and transmission errors. To clear errors one should do it with the engine stopped, but the power switched on.

Is it possible to change anything through the application?

No, as the ELM adapter (ELM 327 Bluetooth adapter) operates in simplex mode, that is, only to read and receive data. To make changes to the on-board system of car you should use professional equipment.

How to activate a HUD display, if there is any?

Head-up Display – the display on the windshield - Head-Up Display or HUD is a system that displays information about the car on the windshield, without limiting vision of the driver.

To activate the HUD display, go to the Dynamic Parameters - select the top tab Widgets - Create widget LED indicator, select the parameter you want to display.

LED indicator displays car parameters in digital view, if you tab ones more on the activated LED indicator, HUD view will be activated. You can leave the mobile device on the dashboard near the windshield. In the result of mirror view, you can conveniently see the data on the windshield without distracting form driving a car (any digital commands are displayed).

Can you explain the “Timeout” option in the Settings menu? In what units it should be input?

The Timeout value means the interval between polling the data. It works as "not less than". By default, these data are read when ready, if you do not need to read the data very often this value can be increased. It makes sense to put only the values exceeding the "response time" that is displayed while reading.